Five interesting things I’ve read this week…

While on holiday on the other side of the ‘pond,’ there was nothing on the news channels other than talk of the ‘Ground Zero Mosque.’ An emotive subject for sure, but one which would have benefitted from all the facts being reported, rather than just the facts which support the headline.

Sarah Hartley comes up with a list of 10 characteristics which mean something is likely to be hyperlocal. It’s a fascinating read, and maybe it’s proof of the impact the hyperlocal scene has had that it is such a broad, difficult church to describe. That said, marking out the ability to blur the line between comment and factual reporting as one of the 10 worries me a little. I think maintaining a clearly visible distinction between comment and fact is what separates a hyperlocal site from that of a more general blogger. To that end, InsidetheM60 is a good example of a site which provides both comment and fact-based reporting, but clearly labels the articles which are comment, so the reader knows exactly what they are getting.

Ok, so this one is a little random. I discovered Bury Market properly for the first time yesterday and it was brilliant. Then I saw a sign at Harry Muffin’s Bakery inside the market, hand written, which said ‘We’re one of the Guardian’s top 10 bakeries. Go to the Guardian website and search for Harry Muffin’s.’ Which I did. Perhaps the most random example of offline marketing?